Hope and Despair: An Epilouge
by Allis Nighte
Summary: an epilouge for the book Z for Zachariah...(don't ask...r/r please!)


  
  
  


Hope and Despair: An Epilouge

by Allis Nighte  


  
  
John Loomis woke up early that morning, as he always did. He didn't bother to change the clothes that he had slept in, as there wasn't many other options of what to put on anyway. The clothes that he did have were terribly worn out and some ripped, and he could remember going to get another shirt and pants in the store to replace old ones, but to his dismay, there were none. 

He wasn't very well. Maybe it was from before, or maybe because he was not eating enough. He had messed up the planting badly, and he couldn't fish much. From lack of many different things to eat, he had grown quite skinny. Almost as thin as he was when he was sick. But that seemed so long ago now, almost in another lifetime. Had it really been half a year since Ann left to find more valleys like this one? It was February, the 16th, he thought; Ann had left in August of last year. John honestly hoped that she had found one, that she was safe and with other people. 

But what were the chances of that? She was but a young girl, out in the deadness and not having a clue what she was doing. At least when he had set out in the suit, he had known what to expect. Although, he had never expected to find this valley. 

John sighed, and went to get eggs to make breakfast. Thankfully the stove still worked, and he made some scrambled eggs for himself. After he was done, he stuck the dishes in the sink but didn't wash them. He was too tired right now to bother to lug another bucket of water to the sink. 

His days were filled with nothingness. Nothing to do, no one to talk to. Some days, he wondered why he would even get up at all. He had long ago gave up on the thought that Ann might come back. Even if she did, she would not talk to him. She hated him, and he knew it. Things couldn't go on like this.

John Loomis was slowly going crazy. 

He stayed inside, sitting in a chair and speaking to himself. He went over his plans for the spring, what he would plant, and such. There was a single cow, and 2 chickens left. How much longer would he be able to live here? There were no other options but to stay. He scratched his chin, which had a short scraggly beard due to the fact that he only trimmed it with scissors, in thought.If only he had been nicer to Ann, and if only she had stayed. If only he hadn't killed Edward. 

He had been stupid, had hurt Ann. In his mind, it had seemed like the right thing to do, to have this whole valley to himself. But now he was paying for it. The teenage girl had beat him, _outsmarted_ him, gotten the suit, and left. 

John became tired of thinking about these things, and sat on the piano bench. In all the time he was alone, he never once tried to play anything. He didn't know how to play, and just fooled around with making sounds. It certainly beat the silence. But he soon became bored with this. The sun had just begun to set, but John was very tired, and he went to sleep.

He was greeted with restless dreams and nightmares. He flailed about a few times, and even once kicked in the wall. "You can't have the suit, Edward! Ann, never go near the suit!" he yelled. 

More softly he spoke, even cried, "Ann, come back, please?"   
Eventually, he calmed down, falling into a deep sleep. No one would be there in the morning to see that he didn't wake up. 

  
  
***

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November 21st

Finally! I wished that I would be able to write again, but I didn't really think it would happen. But it did. I am sorry for not writing sooner, but I was too excited to. So much has happened, that I should start at the beginning.

I went west, like John Loomis had said. I could only hope that he was telling me the truth about seeing the birds circling in that direction. He didn't lie. 

I was hopeful when I left, but after a while, I became discouraged. But then one day I had a dream that I was in a city with children running happily through the streets, shouting and playing games. I stood watching from a doorway, smiling, and then I woke up. I suppose that it gave me the determination to go on, and my spirits were heightened. 

But, still, as I passed through towns, so many of them, with nothing but deadness, I couldn't help but feel horrible. Would I ever find a place, another valley, with people? The only sights for me to see were dead and decaying, once majestic trees, and even worse, deserted towns. I can't even bear to write about the once living things I found in the towns... I did find cars, and with the safesuit, and if they still had gas in them, I might have been able to drive. But I didn't know how, and the chances of finding keys to them were slim. 

I was tired everyday, and I had lost track of how long I had been traveling. Dragging that cart behind me, with the radiation proof tent and other supplies, slowed me down. The lack of anyone to talk to made everyday seem like forever. When I was first alone, I had gotten used to the lack of voices, but after Mr. Loomis came, I began to realize how nice it was to just have someone to speak to. I hadn't heard another human voice in such a long time, and sometimes I would think I heard Mr. Loomis calling out to me. I knew it was impossible, and I was worried that I was going crazy. 

I wondered what he was doing now, alone in the valley. I wondered if he was okay, and I really hoped he was. Even though I despise him, I hoped he was alive because it very well seemed that he was the only other person alive but me. I hoped for a miracle. 

It happened sometime later, that miracle. Green. There, before my eyes, was green grass. Just a small patch at first, but as I walked over hills and through a trail, there were also trees still alive! There were red and yellow leaves mixed with the green, and many were fallen on the ground. Autumn. 

I remembered the shock I felt when it landed on my head. I jumped and shrieked, and the little gray squirrel ran off in front of me, disappearing into a bush. I was in awe. An animal? Alive? Could that mean there were...

"Hey!" I heard the voice call. A boys voice. I thought I was imagining it. But a body to match the voice appeared from behind a thick tree, wearing torn pants and a t-shirt. Thinking it was okay, I took the helmet off of the suit, and breathed in the air. It was pure and clean. The boy seemed to be in as much wonder as me. He whispered, "An outsider..." 

"I-I'm Ann Burden," I said awkwardly, and he listened, fiddling with his slightly longish blonde hair. "I'm from very far away. I didn't think I would find anybody else." 

"Ethan," he said. "How did you manage to get here? I mean, everything outside of here is dead." 

"This suit," I answered, still trying to get over that there was a boy, about my age maybe only a little older, standing before me. "It protects you from the poison. I got it from a man..."

"A man?" 

"Yeah, he came to my valley. I was the only one left there."

I smiled as he told me of his town. There were still many people, hundreds. He began to describe it, but gave up and decided to take me there. "You hafta get through these woods first." I abandoned the cart and followed him. 

About 10 minutes later, I saw the town and gasped, running down and into the streets. Ethan was right behind me. "There are so many people!" I exclaimed in the middle of the street. 

He told me simply, blue eyes beaming, "We were lucky."

I am going to skip forward a bit now. I am writing from the upstairs of Ethan's house. It is the guest bedroom that is now mine. There are books on the bed, and a fat, tabby cat that has taken a liking to me curled up on the floor. Her name is Twinkle, and she is going to have kittens soon. 

The day I arrived here was November 10th. It took me a little while to get settled in, and acquainted with the people of the town, New Faith. Everything is running smoothly, and there is no worries. This town should be safe for a long time.

Ethan's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lowe, are very kind, and took me into their home. Everyone is so great. Though, I am getting tired of telling the tale of my own valley. I can't even count how many times I have _recited_ it. 

It's Friday today, so I have no school. I never really thought that I would have missed it, but I did. The curriculum is a bit different though, and we only go 3 days a week. 

Now, I can hear Ethan's clomping steps coming up the stairs, and my door opens. I smile.

"Hey, Ann. Maria and Larry are waiting for us." 

"Hold on, Eth, you will just have to tell them to wait." Maria and Larry were Ethan's closest friends, and even so soon, are also mine. 

"C'mon, Ann," Ethan says with an annoyed smile. 

I must retire my pen for now, Ethan is taking my hand into his and pulling me from my chair. He puts an arm around my shoulder and we exit the house. 


End file.
